Cambrian News 

Exports of pork from the UK to the Philippines reached almost £17 million in the first four months of 2022 – up 14% on the same period last year.

According to the latest figures from HMRC, between January and April, the amount of pig meat shipped to the country in Southeast Asia increased 46%, to 13,812 tonnes.

The Philippines is now the UK’s second largest non-EU pork export market, behind China. Last year, almost £38 million worth of pork was shipped to the Philippines – a fourfold increase on 2020.

AHDB Export Manager, Susan Stewart, who has just returned from her first trade mission to Asia in two years, said the Philippines is proving to be a valuable market for the pork sector.

She said: “Demand for UK pork in the Philippines continues to increase, delivering a strong boost to the pork sector. In just four months, both the value and volume of shipments have risen significantly, following on from an incredible year for pork exports to Asia.”

 

Susan Stewart / AHDB

Despite the obvious excellent barbecue opportunities encouraged by the current warm spell, demand was surprisingly subdued from many of the majors last, according to Thames Valley Cambac.  

Processor price contributions stood on, but other market fundamentals, such as SPP – up 2.53p at 183.10p, helped to appreciate Q prices, TVC said in its latest market update.

“The fresh market trade bucked the trend, encouraged by good footfall, and saw price improvements in most outlets,” TVC said.

“The cull sow market improved a penny due to currency, but European markets were described as awash with pig meat, but price quotes in sterling appreciated as a stronger Euro ended the week up 0.50p at 85.55p.”

 

Alistair Driver / Pig World

Data from the European Commission shows that Germany’s overall pork production has suffered as a result of the sector’s poor profitability and ASF pressures.

Germany’s finished pig slaughter volumes fell 9% (790,000 head) year-on-year, in the first two months of 2022, to 7.9 million head. Consequently, overall production has also fallen by 11% to 755,000 tonnes, as declines in both the breeding herd and entire pig population restricts production.

German exports of fresh and frozen pork have also fallen during January and February 2022, primarily because of ASF concerns. Fresh and frozen pork exports fell to 235,000 tonnes within two months, with shipments declined to the Netherlands, Italy, Poland and Hong Kong. While Germany has been completely locked out of the Chinese market because of ASF.

However, with a shortage of available slaughter ready pigs, German pig prices soared in recent weeks. Though German meat market analysts AMI have reported that the market is now stabilising.

In an update to the ASF situation, the Freidrick-Loeffler institue shows that ASF has appeared in a handful of domestic German pig herds over the past month – mostly in areas along the Polish border.

 

Meghan Taylor / Pig World

Running a bath can have a higher carbon footprint than eating 4oz of British beef, the author of a new book has said.

Jayne Buxton, whose work The Great Plant-Based Con advocates a common sense approach to diet, blamed the growth of the ‘epidemiology industry’ for an ‘endless stream of company-funded’ university studies which seek to vilify farmers for the climate crisis.

She said: “The research often provides very weak associations, but it plays into the hands of the media who need a constant stream of headlines such as, ‘Eating meat takes 10 days off your life’ or ‘Eat vegan, live longer’.

“The carbohydrate and food processing companies can profit from this message and encourage the media to amplify it, which keeps it at the front of everybody’s minds.”

Ms Buxton, who is an ambassador for the Real Food Campaign and the Public Health Collaboration, said she had consulted ‘an army’ of scientists for the book, which seeks to redress the balance around the quantity and quality of ‘facts’ that are doled out to the public.

 

Alex Black / Farmers Guardian

New Zealand’s Government is considering proposals from its agricultural groups for a farm-level levy system on emissions from 2025.

Farming organisations, including Beef and Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) and Dairy New Zealand, felt they had to make proposals or face the Government automatically entering them into the country’s emissions trading scheme (ETS), which it is currently exempt from.

B+LNZ said the He Waka Eke Noa proposals were ‘not perfect’, but significantly better than entering the ETS.

However, it said the prices which were applied under the scheme was crucial to its success with the potential for emissions policy to significantly impact farm profitability.

He Waka Eke Noa chair Michael Ahie said the recommendations enabled sustainable production for future generations while playing a ‘fair part’ in meeting climate commitments.

He said: “Our recommended approach would enhance NZ’s reputation as world leaders in low-emission food production and keep us ahead of our competitors.”

 

 

Alex Black / Farmers Guardian

Poultry processor Maelor Foods is looking to increase operations at its Pickhill Lane facility in Cross Lanes near Wrexham. There is the prospect of 125 additional jobs and a boost of £13 million to the Wrexham economy.

The company – part of the wider Salisbury Poultry group – invested £20million into the site in 2014. It currently employs 251 local people at the Pickhill Lane site and processes up to one million birds a week.

But bosses said that demand for poultry in the UK has soared since the UK’s departure from the EU. With demand far outstripping supply, Maelor Foods is looking to submit a planning application to Wrexham Council to vary a planning condition, which currently limits production at the facility.

Ricky Mehta, a director at Maelor Foods, said: “Since we started operating at Pickhill Lane in 2014 there have been various restrictions limiting the amount of production that we can do at the site. When we started operating in 2014 this restriction was set at 400,000 birds a week and in 2019 this was lifted to 1 million birds.

“Across the UK similar poultry processing facilities are not subjected to any restrictions on the amount they process. So, we will shortly be asking Wrexham Council to raise the existing restriction to a maximum of 2million birds a week.

 

Owen Hughes / Daily Post

African swine fever (ASF) has been found in domestic pigs in Italy for the first time, delivering a major blow to the country’s pork sector.

Two cases were detected on a farm in Rome’s Lazio region last week. The infected pigs were culled immediately, along with seven others on the farm, as veterinary authorities prepare to slaughter all pigs within a 10-km radius of the site, an estimated 1,000 animals, according to Wanted in Rome.

The virus was discovered in wild boar in Rome in May, having jumped around 500km from an initial outbreak of ASF in wild boar in north-west Italy at the start of the year. Angelo Ferrari, the government’s special commissioner in charge of tackling ASF, has also ordered the culling of ‘at least’ 400 wild boar in the Lazio region, state broadcaster RAI reported.

But the discovery of ASF on a pig farm in Lazio, prompting the cull of 1,000 pigs locally to stem the spread, opens up a new problem.

 

 

Alistair Driver / Pig World

 

Natalie Berkhout / Poultry World

Cull sow prices are falling rapidly due to an over-supplied EU market, as rising finished pig prices are still no match for record costs.

The news that the SPP had breached 180p for the first time in its history should, in normal times, be lauded by the industry, according to TVC. However, in the same week, AHDB announced the COP for May at 240p, showing the current gulf between the market and production costs.

“Pig meat demand was described as steady by most processors,” TVC said in its latest weekly market updater. “All bar one stood on with their contract contributions, indeed one major has now not increased for 11 weeks. It is galling that we are fighting for pennies here and there when we are so far below COP.

“The fresh meat market improved again, driven by decent demand from the Jubilee weekend. Cull sows was another matter, however, as prices tumbled another 8p due to the continued over supply in the European market. Continental prices eased in sterling terms as the Euro ended the week down 0.37p at 85.05p.”

 

 

Alistair Driver / Pig World